Imperial Order
by Angstrom
Summary: This was written quite a while ago while I played Star Wars Galaxies. As a result, most of the characters are based on former guildmates. FYI the canon is based on SWG, so it may not be 100 accurate.
1. Chapter 1

Imperial Order

In the skies above Naboo, a Lambda class shuttle approached the modified Imperial Star Destroyer 'Emperor's Sword'. Markings on the side of this Battleship made it stand out from others in the fleet as Lord Thalnax's Command ship. Three squadrons of Tie Interceptors immediately took formation around the shuttle and a voice broke through the comm. System. "_This is a restricted vessel, level 4 clearance required. Identify yourself_". A gloved hand reached for the control panel and letters clicked onto the screen. "_Transmitting code_" whispered a dark voice before locking the control switches in preparation for docking. The figure sat back in his seat waiting for the usual clearance message; taking the time to do a paperwork check. The same voice came through the speakers, "_Welcome Colonel, the Moff has been expecting you, you are clear to land at bay three_". The Interceptors around him broke formation and continued their patrol while the shuttle was pulled into the docking ring.

As the shuttle prepared itself for landing, platoons of Stormtroopers marched into formation in front of the landing mark. Steam escaped the pressure vents as the ramp descended and immediately metal footsteps could be heard as a tall human male disembarked; he sported a neat officer's uniform with the insignia showing a Colonel rank. Row upon row of Stormtroopers stood to attention on either side of him and facing him was Major Malachon. The major walked up to Aresius and saluted him; "_At ease Major_" commanded the Colonel, "_What news of the platoons in Bestine_". The Major smiled and answered, "_There have been a couple of hit and run strikes because of the election, there were no casualties_".

Aresius stopped at an officer next to him, "_Lieutenant, I was concerned when I heard of the saboteur on board_", he said with noticeable irritation. "_Yes, he blew a power conduit in secondary reactor control, but he picked a wonderful time to reveal himself; the Inquisitor was just arriving._" He answered and flashed an evil grin. They saluted each other and Aresius continued to walk towards the hangar bay doors with the Major. "_I hear our new commando units have completed training, when will they be available?_", the admiral asked. Major Malachon brought out a datapad and handed it to him, "_They have been fitted with special armor that can withstand even a particle beam blast, and they all carry T-21 prototype rifles and modified proton grenades, they have proven to be very deadly. The equipment is expensive so they may be ready for combat in a few weeks_". The admiral put the datapad away, "_I am eager to see them in action, tell the CPO to speed it up_". The major saluted, "_Yes sir_", he entered the lift and two Stormtroopers followed closely.

"_TR-34, inform the Moff I have arrived_". Aresius announced before walking quickly towards the council hall. The tall doors opened for him as he approached, he walked past the Strategists who were too busy to notice him. The admiral suddenly stopped and barked an order to a Captain standing next to the holotable, "_Move the Intrepid to investigate that disturbance 4 parsecs away_". He took out his scribe and painted a flashing red indicator on the strategic map. "_Aye sir_", the captain replied and nodded at his comm. officer.

Aresius continued towards a blast door patrolled by two Dark Troopers. Three turrets came through the floor in front of him; one Trooper scanned him with a small device before saluting and stepping aside. "_The Lord has been expecting you sir_". The colonel thought "_Lord? Surely he means..._" The turrets turned away and the blast door in front of him opened with a mechanical din, making him jump. He stepped inside and saw not only Moff Guff, but Lord Thalnax sitting in front of a large black desk. Two hooded figures were on either side of him standing perfectly still. Aresius quickly bowed, "_My Lord, I was not informed of your arrival_". Lord Thalnax smiled and spoke in a dark voice, "_Good to see you colonel, I heard of the victory against the terrorists in south Naboo, Siege is going as planned._" He stood up and made a hand gesture to the Guard at the door. The blast door opened again and a large bulky man stepped inside, Aresius recognized him as the 3rd Inquisitor.

He was followed by two Stormtroopers carrying another man in Imperial prisoner clothing. They threw him at the Inquisitor's feet, yelping in pain. "_We found this man attempting to steal information and sabotage this vessel_". Exclaimed Lord Thalnax. "_It is…fortunate that the Inquisitor ran across him accessing data on a restricted terminal_". The prisoner tried to climb to his knees; the Inquisitor kicked him over onto his back to face Thalnax. "_Had fun have you Inquisitor?_" Joked Thalnax. "_Very much so my lord, but he refuses to even admit that he is a Rebel scum_" He answered, "_We all know the truth already, so why don't you make it easy for yourself and tell us who sent you!_" he shouted at the Prisoner. The Rebel spat in his face and the Inquisitor kicked him hard to a grovel in front of the Lord. Thalnax sighed at the Rebel, "_Very good Inquisitor, I will finish it from here, you may go_". The Inquisitor bowed and exited the room followed by the two Stormtroopers.

"_Now Rebel, you should have given what the Inquisitor wanted, I find he is far too lenient for my tastes_" Growled Lord Thalnax at the Prisoner, who pushed himself to his feet, The Rebel spat at Thalnax's feet "_Do to me what you wish, I will die before I betray the Rebellion_". Lord Thalnax sighed yet again and beckoned to the two hooded figures next to him before walking towards Aresius; "_It is a real pity that these men cannot see the truth of what the Empire brings to this Galaxy_", he said quietly, "_Come, let us return to the planet_". As the two of them walked towards the Blast door, Aresius gulped as he heard the sound of a lightsaber igniting behind him, and a bloodcurdling scream as the two men tortured the Rebel with storms of lightning until finally one silenced him with his saber. The blast door slammed shut, drowning out the laughter. Lord Thalnax had a grin on his face as they walked towards the ready shuttle, "_What a waste of human life_". Aresius whispered. Lord Thalnax's grin did not falter, he replied, "_There are plenty more Rebel scum to capture, it is only a matter of time until one of them cracks._"


	2. Chapter 2

Imperial Order (Part 2)

"_I suppose now would be the time to inform you, Moff Guff has stepped down from his position and is ready to retire. The Grand Moff has recommended you to be his successor._" Thalnax said unexpectedly as he and Aresius boarded a command lighter. Aresius nodded, "_I am honored my Lord, you shall not be disappointed_." The ranks of Stormtroopers were dismissed by the officers below as the ship began its launch sequence. The heavily armored shuttle was a rare prototype developed by the Hellstrom arms labs to carry officers and outmaneuver any attack made against them. The 'Emperor's Sword' had left the system to investigate a disturbance, thus it was necessary for the shuttle to risk hyperspace to reach Naboo again. Two squadrons of Tie Defenders swooped into formation with the shuttle and matched its speed; the pilot acknowledged them and prepared the jump to lightspeed.

Aresius saw the two same cloaked Jedi bodyguards meditating in the back of the shuttle, they made him feel uneasy. He put them out of his mind and turned to Thalnax, "_What business do we have on Naboo, my Lord_." Thalnax replied immediately, "_We are meeting with the commanding officer of Sturmgrenadier and the ambassador of Siege in Theed Palace. We have much to discuss with them about the apparent threats facing Naboo, it is becoming a target of many Rebel strikes._" Aresius was about to speak when a shrill alarm echoed though the shuttle's narrow interior, followed by a blaster bolt shaking the hull. Commanding voices flew back and forth between squadrons. "_Command channel break, minor pirate raid force picked the wrong shuttle to attack, eliminate them._"

The familiar sounds of Tie fighter cannons could be heard, Thalnax moved to the viewport and observed the battle, the Tie Defenders were handling the hostiles with deadly efficiency. The same voice broke though the comm. System again, "_Rebel fighters scanned, these aren't pirates_". A small frigate haphazardly came out of hyperspace right in front of them; it was torn apart quickly by the shuttle's modified ion cannons. Thalnax smiled, "_I must commend Hellstrom on their design, it seems to be giving the rebels more than one nasty surprise_". A door opened behind them and a sergeant stepped through, he informed that three escape pods had been towed in. "_Excellent_", Thalnax exclaimed, "_Hand them to my guard, their ability to speak is not to be harmed_". The sergeant bowed and exited. Aresius sat down again as the shuttle prepared for lightspeed, leaving behind a chaotic sea of battle debris and destroyed fighters.

The shuttle came out of Hyperspace in polar orbit of Naboo; numerous Star Destroyers could be seen in low orbit as they approached the planet's atmosphere. The shuttle descended quickly and landed on landing platform five just outside the Theed palace. Two Dark Troopers walked off the ramp as it opened, and moved away; Thalnax and Aresius stepped off the shuttle, Thalnax now with a vibroblade at his belt and Aresius wearing a Vibroknuckler. "_Is Naboo really that corrupt if we have to walk around fully armed?_" Aresius exclaimed. "_What? I'm just looking to fight something._" Laughed Thalnax. The two of them continued towards the Starport arch with the hooded guards following close. The meeting point was only a short walk from the building, but they could both sense that trouble was waiting.

Thalnax brought out a communicator and informed their guests that they had arrived. One of the hooded figures twitched, a high powered blaster bolt shot from a window coming for Thalnax; the two Jedi reacted immediately, both lightsabers were ignited and they crossed in front of Thalnax, deflecting the fatal blast. Aresius grabbed a proton grenade off his belt and threw it as hard as he could at the source of the shot. Half the building was incinerated with a blinding light a moment later, one of the guards walked to the wreckage and beckoned with his hand, a small Zabrak male was suspended above the wreckage clutching his throat. The Jedi waved his hand again and the Zabrak was flung towards Thalnax. "_You don't know the first thing about assassination, fool. Take him away!_" He snarled. The nearby Stormtroopers dragged him violently towards the Imperial landing pad.

Thalnax and Aresius continued towards the council building. Two royal guards were stationed outside; they bowed their heads as the two of them entered. Thalnax entered the grand hall with Aresius close behind; they wore Imperial cloaks with a large symbol of the Order on the back. They approached a large council table with an Imperial officer in each chair. Aresius glanced at them all...Skywarp, Retep and Siegler he recognised immediately; others were visiting ambassadors and governors. "_Hail and Well met comrades. Thank you for meeting us here, I called you regarding the intelligence that there is a hidden Rebel Base that the scum have foolishly placed their most senior officers in. Find this base and the Rebellion will be squeezed from this planet._" said Thalnax boldly. Many of the officers nodded. Skywarp immediately said, "_The Empire's stores of Scout droids have all been dispatched, it should not be hard to find._"

All the officers continued to negotiate agreements and exchange tactical information; Thalnax bowed and took his leave, Aresius was at his side. They walked out of the large ceremonial doors quietly and reached the Imperial hangar with no further disturbances. "_I think it's time we interrogated some of our newly acquired prisoners_." suggested Thalnax. They passed a squad of Stormtroopers at the entrance to the base; it seemed a small protest had broken out because of the fighting. One woman yelled "_Death to the Empire!_" A Stormtrooper drew his weapon and shot her in the leg, she fell to the floor in pain and her body was immediately dragged away by two other troopers. Some protesters ran off at the sight of this, the remaining were put down where they stood. Thalnax and Aresius paid the scene no attention and boarded the shuttle; the patrolling Tie fighters joined them in formation again as they broke through the atmosphere and jumped to lightspeed.

When they came out of hyperspace, they were facing a fleet of ten Star Destroyers led by the Emperor's Sword. Thousands of Tie fighters were flying patrols around them. Aresius sent the code to the flagship and they were tractored into the main hangar. As they landed, rows of troop transports were opened and platoons of Stormtroopers were marching up the ramps. Thalnax disembarked before the ramp was even lowered, he barked at an admiral overseeing the operation near him, "_Admiral Kozjo, I trust this is Lord Vader's occupation order? Which sector have we been assigned to?_" He started to walk towards the officer's quarters. "_We have been specifically ordered to fortify our city of Thalnax on Naboo with ten legions of Stormtroopers; we are almost ready for the jump._" He replied obediently.

Thalnax nodded and approached his office, Aresius ordered the Dark Troopers aside. The door opened again and to his surprise, his personal guard were already standing near his desk. Thalnax yelled an order to the Dark Troopers, "_Bring the three pilots and the assailant to me._" Five Stormtroopers entered the room soon after dragging the prisoners along the ground; they all had scarring and burns from the torture cells. The Stormtroopers moved them to a sitting position, Thalnax grabbed a remote off his desk and pressed a button; the wall behind him opened to reveal a window in the shape of the Imperial insignia. Thalnax pointed firmly toward it, "_Do you see that? Around fifty legions of Soldiers sitting in those Battleships, away from their families and with nothing but a weapon in their hands…Why are they there? Because of YOU!_" Thalnax shouted angrily, "_Thousands upon thousands of Soldiers must fight and die because of your Rebellion, your 'saviours of the galaxy'. You are told the Empire exists only to cause terror, when we have brought order and saved the galaxy from the Republic's failure. The space station orbiting Yavin was home to thousands of innocent families, they were all obliterated simply because the rebellion's leaders were afraid of its power. I am giving you the chance here to join the only true order keeping the galaxy together._" One prisoner got to his knees and bowed to Thalnax, he opened his mouth to speak. Suddenly he was cut short by the prisoner next to him stabbing him fatally in the spine with a concealed blade. He died instantly and collapsed; the remaining three men stood up and shouted, "_Libertas ara Amplus! Death to the Empire!_" The two Dark Jedi came forward, stuck out their arms and swiftly engulfed the rebels in lightning from their fingertips. The prisoners shouted in pain before collapsing slowly to the ground; an evil grin could be seen from under the guards' hoods. The bodies were dragged away by the Stormtroopers and the blast door closed loudly. "_Who needs an inquisitor anyway, we were very close. It just shows you how any man can be manipulated; we will get our answer soon I believe._" Thalnax explained. The two of them walked out of the office to oversee the final launch sequences.


End file.
